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COLT DRAGOON REVOLVER .44 CALIBER BULLET MOLD –
MODIFIED TO CAST THE .44 CALIBER WALKER COLT BULLET –
MAKER MARKED AND INSPECTED: Originally
manufactured as a two-cavity mold to cast bullets for
the Colt Dragoon Revolver, this mold was issued within
the US Army, evidenced by the Ordnance Department
inspector’s initials on the side of the mold.
At some point in time, this mold was modified. The
material housing the two cavities was milled out and
replacement blocks of brass were inserted in the
resulting mortise. A single bullet cavity was then
milled into the replacement blocks which would cast a
pointed bullet with a notably wide skirt. The diameter
of the base of the bullet is right at .454 in diameter,
and the cavity lines up with the pour port closest to
the hinge.
The size and
profile of the resulting cavity matches the Walker Colt
conical bullet pictured in Plate 36 of Berkeley Lewis’s
well respected work, Small Arms And Ammunition In The
United States Service, 1776-1865, published by the
Smithsonian Institution in 1956.
The
mortise work is very well executed, and suggests that it
is the quality product of a skilled craftsman who was
used to this type of close tolerance work. Given that
modern made bullet molds are readily available in almost
any caliber and bullet shape, it is difficult to imagine
that a modern shooter went to this amount of effort,
leading me to believe this mold was modified during the
19TH Century when Colt Walker Revolvers were
still being carried. If a man still carrying a Walker
did not have a mold specifically made for his pistol, he
might well have arranged for a gunsmith to modify this
Colt Dragoon mold which was of a size to support the
large Walker bullet.
The bullet cavity still retains its complete form, with
sharp edges and the brass has an overall pleasant aged
patina. The Colt Patent stamp on the sprue cutter is
fully legible, as are the inspector’s initials on the
side of the right hand block – “W.A.T.” for William A.
Thornton. The hinge joining the blocks is solid and
freely opens without being loose. Likewise, the sprue
cutter is full form and functions smoothly.
This is certainly a unique bullet mold, and one that
would fit well into a collection of early Colt Revolver
molds. (0107) $550
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